Theatre Tuscaloosa reprisal brings Patsy Cline back to stage

The iconic Patsy Cline will make her fourth appearance in the Bean-Brown Theatre for Theatre Tuscaloosa's reprisal of one of America's most produced musicals, "Always...Patsy Cline."

By Tara MassoulehSpecial to Tusk

The iconic Patsy Cline will make her fourth appearance in the Bean-Brown Theatre for Theatre Tuscaloosa's reprisal of one of America's most produced musicals, "Always...Patsy Cline."

"This show is the most successful show that this organization has done," said Paul K. Looney, director of the production and artistic director emeritus of Theatre Tuscaloosa. "Ever since we have done this in 2005, one of the most asked-for shows has been this particular show. We've been waiting to make sure that it was the right time to bring it back."Shelton State Community College's Bean-Brown Theatre has previously produced "Always...Patsy Cline" in 1999, 2001, 2003 and most recently in September 2005.

"Always...Patsy Cline", based on a chapter of Ellis Nassour's Cline biography "Honky Tonk Angel," debuted in 1988 and was originally directed by Ted Swindley. Since its debut, the show has found success on multiple stages, being produced by community, regional and professional theaters alike. It has run off-Broadway in New York City, in the Nashville's Ryman Auditorium starring country singer Mandy Barnett and internationally in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The story centers on the relationship between the legendary country music singer and her No. 1 fan, housewife Louise Seger. Following a chance meeting before a concert in Houston, Cline spends an evening in Seger's home. The short encounter sparks a genuine friendship between the two women that defies traditional stereotypes of fan worship, and continues in the form of letters signed "Love Always...Patsy Cline," until the singer's untimely death.

The show features Sara Catherine Wheatley as Patsy and Lauren Wilson as Louise, both of whom are reprising their roles in the show, Wilson for her fourth time as Louise and Wheatley for her fourth as Patsy (she's also performed the role twice in Oregon, since graduating the University of Alabama). In addition to the two actors, the show's original director, lighting designer and members of the band will rejoin for the production, which opens tonight.

"It has just been a joy ride for all of us, I think, since we have begun," Looney said. "It's been incredible fun for me to come back and do this, with these guys particularly, since we were able to get this original group back together."The production offers an intimate setting in which the audience hears Wheatley perform 17 to 18 of Cline's most iconic songs — including such well-known tunes as "Crazy," "Walkin' After Midnight," and "I Fall to Pieces" — intertwined with the heart-warming story of the friendship.

"To this day people still listen fervently to her music. To have a play based on instances in her life, and for that be a vehicle for her to sing all her songs, was almost too good to be true," Looney said.

Wheatley was a theater student at UA when she first auditioned and won the role of Patsy. Since first playing the role as a college student in 2005, Wheatley has played it twice more in Portland, Ore. Now more than eight years later, Wheatley has returned to reprise the role in the Bean-Brown Theatre.

"When she came back and opened her mouth it was quite a shock, because her voice has gotten much stronger even than what it was when she was here before, and it was wonderful when she was here the first time," Looney said.Wheatley said she grew up listening to Patsy Cline's recordings, and has always been a big fan of the singer. The music is a big part of why the show is so loved, she said.

"The music is so universal and timeless, that people that didn't even know who Patsy Cline was before they came to see the show are able to find this woman's body of work, which is so incredible and important to the history of country music," she said. "This music touches people and has for a long time, and that's why Patsy Cline records still sell."

Wheatley said the unlikely friendship between Cline and Seger strikes a chord with audience members who could never dream of meeting, or much less becoming friends with, their favorite musicians today.

"There's something kind of magical about their relationship that would never happen now," she said. "The relationship between the two women is really sweet and genuine. There's a lot for people to grab onto in the relationship."

Another facet of the show's appeal is the intimate setting in which audiences are fully immersed in the performance through extensive interaction with the actors. Looney, the show's director, likened the experience to siting down in a living room to tell a friend a story, only the living room is the Bean-Brown Theatre and the friend is the show's 300 plus audience members.Wilson said her favorite part of the show is leaving the stage to walk amongst the audience in the aisles of the theater."The audience experience is what it is because we bring them in. They're a part of the story too," she said.

"Always...Patsy Cline" consistently brings out a devoted audience. Wilson said in a previous run, while the show was on tour in Alabama, three women followed the show from city to city and even waited outside stage doors for the actors to appear. In addition to these fans, Wilson said the show generally draws a diverse audience, encompassing all age groups, which makes playing the same role night after night seem fresh and exciting.

"It's new with every audience and it's just as much fun every time we do it," she said.